Inequitable
by Junaberry
Summary: Susannah was never endowed with the gift of being able to talk, touch and see the dead. Nor fall in love with them. But true love remains despite all obstacles.
1. Chapter 1

**I was searching rigorously through my mind for a fan fiction that actually would consist of _more_ than 20 chapters… And so I came up with… this. Enjoy and pretty please review!**

**And I'm actually going to try and be serious and not random with intense plotting and good grammar. I'm probably going to… twist the story quite a lot and even develop the character's personalities a little or change them to suit my story but still keep the basics. **

**And another thing, as I'm going to be doing two points of view, I've decided to two do synchronized stories. They'll just be two perspectives, but like two stories going on at the same time. **

**I Beg to Differ**

**By Junaberry Pop**

My name is Susannah Simon. You _could _say I have led a relatively prosperous life so far; health, enough money, a loving family, or the remnants of a loving family. My father died when I was a child, but I never really was close to him per se.

But now, after 16 years of contentment in Brooklyn, my mother feels the calling from God to marry a man she met _once _on a business trip to Carmel-by-the-sea, Cali. Apparently, she _also _finds it necessary that she ship both her and me to that very city, if you could even call it that, to live with Andy (my new step-father) and his three teenage sons. Joy.

And so, this evolutionary plan is what led me to this bumpy ride from the small airport to Andy's house; 99 Pine Crest Road.

Andy held my mother's hand affectionately between his right one, grinning stupidly from ear to ear at our arrival. We had reached the airport earlier that morning. I couldn't tell whether he was exactly happy with _me; _so far, I had been nothing close to a gracious house guest. My constant complaints could hardly have appeased him. He was never rude to me or displayed evil step-parent qualities; I was just furious that I had been forced to leave my whole life behind to follow my mother.

"How long more?" I queried, leaning back onto the chair, my arms folded into a defensive position.

I didn't want Andy to think I _wanted _to be here; because I didn't, I had everything I wanted in Brooklyn… What a pity my mother fell in love… I know I sound like a cruel, terrible daughter, but everyone knows teenagers are self-centered…

"Not long now, another five minutes at most."

I must have dozed off, because before I could stir at the sudden cease of movement, a large hand shook my shoulder and my eyes snapped open in surprise. Leaning in through the backseat door was a tall, well built boy of about 18. His green eyes were half closed. It was Sleepy, or Jake as most knew him.

"Hi Jake," I greeted him formerly and he grunted a reply back before trudging back into the house.

"Oh, sweetie, isn't the house just divine!" squealed my ecstatic mother from the boot as she bustled herself there, retrieving our many bags.

And finally I noticed the ever imposing brilliance of the house. It had a commanding, quaint presence. I was astounded for a moment as I absorbed it. It was indeed 'divine' as my mother called it.

"Sure," I agreed and stepped out to help my mother in taking the bags inside.

I unwillingly followed my petite mother inside the grand building and dumped the few bags I had followed in with on the carpet in the living room. Moisture had built up on my forehead from the vigorous labor of hauling the luggage inside. I came to a conclusion in that second; before judging the house, I would experience just how life here would treat me here.

"Andy, do you think I could take a shower?" I called into the kitchen where he was preparing a drink for us; sustenance after a long day he had called it.

"Of course, here, I'll show you to your room so you can get settled in," he seemed happy that I had requested his help.

He came out and we both picked up the few bags that were my own and then commenced in lunging up the stairs to where my supposed bedroom was. On the short distance up the stairs he babbled on about the high school that I would be attending the next day and features that this small sea side city was home to.

I thanked him and gratefully entered what would be home base for me for the next few years. The walls were painted a misty aqua with caned furniture in sections of the noticeably large room. It had to be more than double the size of my old room. There was a queen sized bed in the centre of the room, a desk to the right and windows at either sides of the room. Even a computer was installed before I had arrived; I had to admit that the Ackerman's were generous.

It seemed I _would _be comfortable here.

I soon discovered an attached bathroom which I utilized quickly; the warm water soothing me. Donned in a black, cotton t-shirt and loosed jeans, I hesitantly joined the family downstairs for dinner.

**A Rose by Any Other Name**

**By Junaberry Pop**

The caramel haired girl had drifted to her step-family to join in the evening meal after bathing in the bathroom adjoined to her new bedroom. She had arrived that afternoon, barging into my resting place of almost 100 years; I was unprepared for her and shocked. Of course, she could not see me, as most of the rest of the human race.

I am a ghost, and have been for the majority of my life. At the age of 20, on the eve of my wedding, I was murdered by my cousin, Maria's lover; Felix Diego. And so I have resided in this boarding house ever since, watching over all that had inhibited it.

This new tenant interested me the most out of all that had lived in this room; she was the only one of female persuasion that had entered my domain. Of course I decided as soon as I set eyes on her that I would not invade in her privacy; I am a man of many morals and refused to take advantage of her.

That night, I watched over her as she rested in silent bliss; her breathing calming me. Night animals began their rowdy behavior outside. I shut the door that opened to the balcony outside cautiously as to not wake the sleeping beauty.

Her room was easily the best besides the master bedroom. It was clearly the largest with a vast balcony and en-suite, as I had been informed they were called by an irritating houseguest several years in the past.

I resumed my place next to her and brushed a tenacious lock off her face.

It was enough for me to simply watch over her; girls of this age are always most susceptible to dangers, and I vowed from the moment on to always protect her from the unjust world that awaited her outside the safety of her room.

**Of course you can guess which parallel story is Jesse's point of view and you would undoubtedly be correct. I'll probably do the majority of the story in Susannah's POV though…**

**So, hope you enjoyed it. Please review.**

**Courtesy of Junaberry Pop.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Some confusion with whether or not Susannah is a mediator… She is not. **

**Thank you for all your reviews! This is the most I've ever gotten for a chapter… EVER! And they were all positive as well. **

**I decided to update just for all my reviewers. And I promise not to make Suze too posh as well. nudge**

**I Beg to Differ**

Dinner was surprisingly… incredibly delicious. Andy had prepared us an array of dishes to try; I swear, my mum nearly burst her heart with happiness at not having to cook. While cutlery scraped on the plates, we made some pretty meaningless chit chat… But I had to commend Andy for trying.

"So, Suze, what's Brooklyn like?"

"Dirtier I suppose. More people. But I like the peace here."

"That's great! The school's pretty small as well so you should like that as well."

"But I'm gonna really miss my friends. I doubt I'll be able to make any new ones here…"

That dried up the conversation quickly. With Dopey, my other stepbrother, sliding his chair against the tiles, and leaving abruptly, I took this as a sign to finish eating as well.

"That was a lovely meal, Andy!" chimed my mother, also dabbing her perfectly lipstick-ed mouth with her _cloth _napkin. Yes, they use cloth napkins in the Ackerman household. At home, we rarely used napkins, and on the occasions, they were only paper.

Andy replied with a smile and began to clear the dishes. He must _really _be into the whole entertaining thing, I concluded.

"Go help Andy with the dishes, Susie. Be a good house guest," my mother whispered to me over the table, placing her hand over mine as a comforting gesture. I grudgingly agreed and followed Andy into the kitchen but when my mother hissed my name under her breath I turned around and gave her a sickly sweet smile.

We stacked the dishes into the dishwasher in an uncomfortable silence. I stared outside at the patio outside, obviously made for entertaining. It seemed only fit that a family like the Ackerman's always had guests over or were hosting a party of sorts. It was also surprising in a way; Andy's wife had died several years back. I was bemused by how Andy managed to play "mum" with his work schedule as a chef as well.

As I left the kitchen, I heard Andy call a thank you. I smiled slightly and continued to my room. My mum had already retired to the master bedroom that now belonged to Andy and her, probably to clean up; she hadn't taken a shower when we had arrived like me. The boys had also hidden in their bedrooms or gone out for a night of partying or whatever boys their age do, except for Doc, or David as he was introduced as, who was in the study, next to his room, doing _homework. _Homework on a _Sunday _evening… I know, I'm shocked as well.

My room had been completely prepared for me prior to my arrival including the bed being made, guest towels, tooth paste, soap and everything else I needed; something I was very grateful for, so all I needed to do was brush my teeth, change and slip into my very soft bed of which I had sampled that afternoon.

The toothpaste was a little too minty fresh for my liking but I would have to use it until I go get some Colgate from the Thrift way I had seen on the way to Andy's place. The mirror fogged up quickly from the steamy water gushing into the basin so I wiped it off with my hand.

As I left, I could swear that I saw a shimmer from the corner of my eye in the mirror. Just a quick flicker of light, but it was definitely there. A shiver erupted through my, but I smiled manically. I was always interested in supernatural creatures; vampires, witches, werewolves but mostly… ghosts. I would visit the library every afternoon and read books about them, scour the internet for any information on them. My goal to one day talk to a ghost had not deviated since my arrival in Carmel.

I had a niggling feeling that that shimmer was indeed a ghost haunting my bedroom and as I slipped underneath my covers that night, I said goodnight to my ghost. My bedroom ghost.

**A Rose by Any Other Name**

She was preparing for sleep and I had to interrupt. I had to reveal my nature when she was there and I certain that she saw me. I was nothing more than a sparkle of light but the comprehension in her eyes told me she knew.

My heart longer for her touch; she was the only human I had ever wanted. I yearned to hold her, to soothe her when she was scared, to converse with her. I barely knew her, and yet I loved her. She was possibly the most fascinating human being I had ever been graced with the presence of, I found myself reveling in her every movement, the way her hair swayed from side to side, how she found herself hating her new life at one moment then enjoying it immensely the next.

I sat by her bed until the sun rose and she woke up. Her eyes were bleary and her cheeks tinged with pink. I carefully slipped to the corridor when she bathed and changed for school.

**A smaller update because of a bit of writer's block. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I Beg to Differ**

You could say I slept a pretty dreamless sleep except for flashes of that same shimmer in the mirror the night before. I couldn't get my mind off it. But in the end, I had to tell myself that it _was _just a flicker, it could have been anything at all. But if it was something, I promised myself that I would prove it.

Later in the morning, when the drowsy, yet delectable breakfast all the same was over and I was showered and _almost _prepared for school (clothing was yet to be selected), my mother interrupted my 'preening', as Doc had called it, to 'chat.'

"Susie, sweetheart, let's chat." She sat daintily on the edge of the bed, her forehead wrinkled a little with the obviously troubled thoughts rifling through her mind.

"What is it, mom?"

She opened her mouth a few times but no words came out. I sidled towards her in order to comfort her but before I could drape my arm lovingly around her slender shoulders, she finally spoke.

"Sweetie, I know that… you're quite accustomed to… dressing in rather… gloomy clothes," her speech ceased at irregular moments through the sentence then picked up a few seconds later. "So, I must ask you to wear something less… dark. The Juniperra Serra Mission _is _a convent school after all."

I relaxed and exhaled in relief. For a moment I was scared that she was going to babble on about how I shouldn't rush into a relationship as soon as I entered the school gates. It wasn't rare for her to broach the subject of boys like that, at the tender age of 10; I had concluded that she just liked to talk about them…

Of course, I wasn't actually planning on wearing my velvet full length dress or anything… I could swear my mom through a fit when I wore that dress to my semi-formal a couple of years ago. It was more a dare than anything. In fact, just before she came into my room, I had decided to don whatever my hand touched in the next second.

"Don't worry, mom. I promise I'll wear something bright and cheerful," sarcasm disappointedly (to my mom that is) tainted my assurance but she sent me a motherly smile anyway.

"Well, good luck then. I'll be back around four."

I groaned and flopped back onto the made bed. My mother was always the worrying type…

"Suze, going in five," Sleepy shouted up the stairs. I yelled back my reply and reluctantly made my way back to the closet.

I closed my eyes and slid my hand along the top of the hangers. A childish way to choose something but definite _and _not as childish as eeny meeny miney mo, although still a good method. When my hand stopped I opened my eyes. A corset… A CORSET OF ALL THINGS.

Of course, when I had gone window shopping with my best friend, Gina, in Brooklyn and we had spotted the garment hanging in a boutique, she _had _to buy it for my birthday. I had voiced my complete disapproval, but guess what was inside the wrapping paper on my doorstep the next morning?

I contemplated performing the system of selection once more but at the last minute decided to wear it. Just for fun. Irrational, I know, but where was the fun in that? Along with the top, I easily slid on a much easier choice of loose, black pants.

I breathed a sigh of liberation as I tripped lightly down the stairs to tap Sleepy on the shoulder to relieve him from screaming my name up the stairs again, as he had been doing repeatedly for the past five minutes.

Dopey trudged to the foot of the steps where we were standing to leave with us. He ogled at me and I almost asked him if he needed medical attention.

"Let's go," he finally said.

The car ride was awkward and silent. I had to commend my apparent cleavage for that. Sleepy's car was a red, Land Rover and it surprisingly slid along the road easily. I was expecting a much more bumpy and uncomfortable ride.

I groaned as the car slid to a stop in the available space near the school. No gates, take that mom! I thought smugly. A bushy bob of albino hair weaved through the crowd to the gardens. Gardens, yes, the schools was not one building like most other American schools, but was made up of several buildings, with gardens and courtyards and other… educational things throughout. Juniperra Serra, God, I hate you already, was the last thing I thought as I entered what I _thought _would be my personal hell.

**A Rose by Any Other Name**

She had been deliberating over the large amount of clothes in her closet for a good ten minutes… Breakfast had been an informal affair, unlike what the morning meal had been like in my time. Interrupting her dazed state of choosing something to wear, her mother had entered to discuss something with her.

The conversation was concise; don't wear anything gloomy. I wasn't able to unravel when she was saying exactly, at the time, but I knew it had something to do with what she wore. I could only guess that she didn't want her daughter to wear anything to heavy because of the warmer weather.

After her mother left, she seemed to be performing some sort of ritual near her closet. Truth be told, it was indeed confusing yet captivating. I had no idea, whatsoever of what she was doing, but the way her feminine hands glided across the clothes and the way her eyelashes fluttered as her eyes closed… Stop it, Jesse! I reminded myself and turned away, ashamed.

When I turned around, I was astounded. All she had on was a corset, as my sisters had informed me after I had referred to it as the 'saddle with strings', and pants. I was even _more _shocked, if that was possible, when she went to join her step brother downstairs without putting anything else over her corset. I was sure that the corset was a form of underwear, not something you would actually wear in public!

I restrained myself whenever I got the urge to throw a less-revealing shirt at her in the short time that she spent brushing her hair to the time that she joined her brothers downstairs. I waited until I was sure that they had reached the school when I materialized there.

**This chapter is probably kind of muddle and confusing and… thoughtless… But it was more of a… "I'M GOING TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER DAMNIT!" sort of chapter PLUS I got to lazy to edit…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so, I know I said that this one was on permanent hiatus but it was calling for me! I might be sketchy on a few things (I haven't even seen this story for a lo****ng time) so please be tolerant. This won't be a regular; more like a side project so don't expect any weekly updates.**

**I Beg to Differ**

The school was bustling with hundreds of students in spite of what Andy had originally said. There were girls in the bathrooms, spraying floral deodorant and freshening up eyeliner. There were jocks flaunting their muscles in front of skinny, blonde cheerleaders and all the while, I stood in front of the admin, staring at it. Usually, I would have been confident, striding up to the door and flinging it open but now that time. Well, okay, I lie; I _did _feel like my confident self but all of the students milling around me was kind of putting my brain off whack.

"You okay?" said someone from behind me.

I whirled around to see who it was; alas, the albino chick. She had on this half amused expression and was hugging her binder to her chest.

"A little lost but I'll be okay," I told her and didn't keep eye contact.

Now, I consider myself a fairly rational, non discriminatory person; I'm not racist and I don't judge by gender but in a new school with a bunch of new kids everywhere, you're ethics can often strain a little. So, it was then that I looked away, hoping she would get the message and _go away. _It wasn't that I thought she was mean or ugly or anything; I just didn't want to get caught up in the wrong crowd.

In fact, she was probably a really nice person but you know, social suicide and everything. A girl's got to do what a girl's go to do. This was actually what I repeated to myself in my head over and over again as I heard her walk away with a little disgusted snort from her.

Soon, the bell rang, a high nasal sound, and I knew I had to inform the admin of my arrival and get my timetable and whatnot. So, with a little glance around at the now almost empty school yard, I traipsed off into the building and pushed the door open. To the right was a high desk with a grey haired woman manning the desk. A phone was ringing irritatingly and I had the urge to shout at the woman to answer it. There were a few chairs opposite the desk and two or three school plaques above them.

"Hi, I'm Susannah Simon. I transferred here from Brooklyn," I said to the lady who had her head down, scribbling into a note pad and glancing at a list of phone numbers and names thumb tacked to a little notice board.

"Oh! I didn't see you there, sweetie. Susannah Simon, did you say?"

I nodded.

"Rightio then. Here's your timetable and a map of the school. Your first class is Trig in Room 15. Here's a note for being late to class," she said and scribbled something down onto a torn scrap of paper.

She then handed it to me in her grey, marbled hand.

"Thanks a lot."

I found my class all right; unfortunately, it was in a building half way across the school so I _still _got a verbal thrashing for being later than what it said on my note the woman had written for me. Trig was my elective and by God, had I regretted it.

"Your homework will be the Chapter One practice pages. I want all of those questions complete with full working out on my desk on Thursday. You are dismissed."

My trig teacher was a young, perfectly figured… vixen, if you will. She had a sharp tongue, shiny black hair and an impeccable taste of fashion, if I may say so myself. I have to admit that I was a tad terrified of her but I also looked up to her straight away.

"Well, that was a bogus lesson," I heard someone say.  
"The teacher's pretty hot though. I could do with some teacher, student relations," someone else replied.

I felt like groaning by the general stupidity of some of my classmates but refrained from doing so. The hallway was once again full of bustling students so I quickly rushed to my locker and shoved my books in. The rest of my day was fairly free; I had French after break and then a double of Government and a single of English.

This was the time I had been dreading for the previous day; break, recess; whatever you want to call it. You've seen Mean Girls and you've probably experienced that thudding in your heart on your first day. I went to the tuck-shop faced with hordes of students mingling, lining up and a group of skater dudes, in the corner, smoking some pot probably. At the Juniperra Serra Mission, there is no cafeteria. Everyone eats outside in the courtyard so I guess that took some of the load off my shoulders; cafeterias freak me out. You know, all that cheese and mac under the benches, jocks throwing raspberry ice cream at floundering freshmen. Kind of overrides my delicate mind.

"You look lost. I'm Lydia and these are my friends Debbie and Kelly," said a pretty girl who had just strode up to me.

She was wearing a crochet sweater and tight fitting jeans, clutching a Prada purse with Kate Spade pumps on her feet. If there's any word to describe Carmel, it's lavish. Their houses, or mansions I should say, their departmental stores, their _people_; they're all rich and expensively furnished/stocked/dressed. I could feel myself melting under her gaze from her perfect blue eyes and eyelashes coated with clear mascara. But on that topic; three inches of foundation much?

"Hi, I'm Suze."

It was all I could to not choke under her watchful eyes; her cronies weren't so scary. All right, the one called Kelly was; she was glaring at me like she was willing her eyesight to burn a hole through my head. I could only guess she didn't like my pants or something…

"Nice to meet you. We're part of the student council here and just wanted to welcome you. Do you want to sit with us today?" she immediately said after I replied.

"Sure," I choked out after not having very long to consider the invitation.

So that's how I managed to get in with the A-Clique at Carmel-by-the-sea. Okay, I kid; I didn't get in with them. After the first day, they kind of ditched me at every break and lunchtime but it didn't really worry me.

"Okay, Suze; its okay if I call you Suze, right? Anyway, I'm Lydia Barklem, that's my boyf, Sam. Over there's Claire and her sister Elisa…" Lydia was introducing me to the rest of the A-clique but only after a few names, I had already spaced out completely. Listening to a list of boring, perky cheerleader or thick jock names were really my favorite pastime.

"Anyway, tell us a bit about yourself, Suze," Lydia said and snapped me out of my day dreaming of subways and chocolate thick shakes in true New Yorker style.

"Um, well, I'm from Brooklyn. My mom and I moved here a few days ago because she just got married. So yeah, that's about it. Oh, my favorite shops the Gap, by the way."

I only added the last part because I though mentioning some sort of shopping complex would save me from getting interrogated by the more than curious bunch around me. How wrong I was.

"The GAP? Are you joking me? Oh God, they sell the worst stuff."

That was Debbie voicing her rather air headed opinions which was certainly not out of character, as I'd learnt earlier after a brief conversation with her which consisted of some kind of topic on leather corsets (this after spotting my own corset, thank fully not of the leather material).

"They're… uh, okay… I guess… uh," I stumbled over a reply.

"You shop at the Gap? Ew."

I was completely and utterly humiliated but managed to survive through the rest of break, slurping on my lemonade, trying to block out the rest of the conversation. Bell rang soon though, thank God for that otherwise I would have had to sit through duller chit chat about Anthropologie, and I ran off to French happily, humming show tunes to myself.

**A Rose by Any Other Name**

I watched her stumble through the hallways to her class, holding a shockingly thin text book easily in her hand. Among the other students, I could easily see her. I'd watched her for the earlier part of the day; leaning against the window in her mathematics class, or watching over her shoulder while she worked in her book. It was all so fascinating because for the first time, there was someone there who intrigued me, who surprised me with her every move and decision.

"Sorry I'm – Oh, I'm the first one here! Hah," she said to her French teacher with a little chuckle before sitting herself down by the window.

Studiously, she flipped open her book and mouthed some of the words to herself. Her mouth was like a perfect rosebud in the middle of winter, so vivacious in color yet so delicate at the same time, victim to the vicious gusts of wind. However, I could not immerse myself in her for very long as soon, the rest of the class trailed in, impeding my vision and concentration.

The only reason for my inability to connect with another human in the 150 years I have been on this Earth is that I am no different to the day I died yet all these people around me are like aliens, people I am so unused to; their habits, the things they do everyday stun me but push me away. So even though Susannah was no different, she contrasted against them at the same time. Her aura was one that I would find from one of the girls I would have known in my younger years; a spirit of purity. Unlike the other girls in her time, she was not so interested in fashion or shopping or boys and for this reason, I was almost possessed by her.

"Welcome… Susannah Simon to our class. My name's Madame Louis and I will be your French teacher for the rest of this semester," the teacher said from the head of the classroom whilst some students were still settling themselves and bringing out books from bags and the like.

"Quiet!" she shouted once the noise had still not ceased after speaking.

Susannah's knee was jumping up and down under her desk and she looked visibly shaken from the somewhat violent outburst from what appeared to be nothing more than a petite woman.

"Thank you. Now, Susannah, I hope you have fun this semester and learn a lot. Open up chapter five, please," she said loudly with a slight growl in her voice.

Susannah found the correct page rapidly and returned her gaze to her teacher's head. In an unthinkable and rather vulgar action, I leaned forward from behind her chair, smelling her cinnamon scented hair deliriously. It was so easy to be caught in the moment with Susannah. It was so easy to be lost in her eyes and forget my place in her world for she was not even aware of my presence; I was no one to her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello dears, enjoy this chapter; longer than usual, no? I had lots of fun writing this so I hope you have lots of fun reading this! R&R, babes. **

**I Beg to Differ**

We were sitting around the dining table. Brad, or Bradley as I'd soon found out, was shoveling hideous amounts of food down his throat. I had no idea why he always seemed to be so hungry, or why he had absolutely no manners concerning eating habits. Truth be told, I retched a little every time I caught sight of the boys eating. It was surprising to see Andy's offspring's' eating habits… comparing it to his own.

Andy had grilled some tuna patties earlier and now, they were sitting on my plate.

"How was your day, dear? Good, I suppose. You had Brad and Jake to help you out," my mom asked me cheerily, nibbling delicately on a roll.

There's nothing I wouldn't do for my mom, but sometimes I can't help but think that's she completely oblivious to anything _outside _the news station. It's almost impossible that a first day at a news school is good in the least. Tolerable maybe…

"It was okay. Nothing special," I viciously stabbed a piece of tuna and mashed it on my plate.

"I saw you and Kelly hanging out. What was that all about?" spoke Jake.

Oddly enough, he spoke to me; I mean, I'd only heard his voice maybe three, four times. It was very shocking to hear him contribute to a conversation no matter how sullen it was.

"She was just…" I stalled and looked down at the cloth napkin, _not _paper. "…showing me around a little. I don't think she really likes me though."

"Oh, don't speak like. Of course she likes you. Who wouldn't?" not very helpfully, my mother interjected.

Brad coughed loudly and a spray of a mixture of tuna and bread roll flew out, covering the dining table with a layer of it.

Dinner gathered momentum; it was kind of uncomfortable. No one knew what to say but almost at the end, my mother cleared a throat and sipped on her drink.

"What are you doing tonight, Susie? Maybe you and Bradley could go out; he could show you around."

She smiled hopefully at me and dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. Dopey scoffed a little with the food still in his mouth. We all were presented with a good view of it; mushed up brown lumps with a few sneak peeks of what I assumed was read capsicum in the salad.

I must say that I was at a loss for words. It was probably not in my priorities to mingle with the locals, or initiate conversation with the otherwise _scintillating _Kelly and co. but alternatively, I had been cooped up in the Ackerman house and oppressive school for more than enough time.

"I'd love to go out tonight; see a few things. Brad?" I smiled sweetly, faking sincerity at him.

I had to be disgustingly sweet to him for tonight if I wanted to have my hopes to get out of the house for the night come true… but, then again, it would all pay off when I would humiliate him later, inevitably…

"Uh, sure." He looked taken aback to the point where his eyeballs were bugging out of their sockets. "I guess we could go to Tad's party. I hear they're getting a kegger…"

The minute he said that fateful word, he choked for a second and his eyes popped out even more. Andy, ever the gentleman, stood up and excused himself to stalk around the table and pull Dopey up by the ear.

Doc grinned cheerfully at me from the opposite side of the table and I winked at him. His brothers were… smelly, rude, or constantly disgusting but Doc most certainly wasn't. He took after his father in many ways but there was a part of him that I could only suppose belonged to his mother. His mind, his endless intelligence; I'd heard that the former Mrs. Ackerman was a successful pediatrician in the Carmel hospital. I was duly impressed when I was informed of this.

After dinner, and a bout of yelling and curse words from the kitchen where Andy had Dopey, I resigned myself to my room. After Dopey and his father had reappeared from the kitchen, he'd sullenly apologized for proclaiming such a _terrible _thing, and then told me to be ready in half an hour. So now, I had the looming task of changing into something that would be both acceptable to my mother and my newfound stepfather but also something I wouldn't be jeered at or mocked for being seen in public in. I had to keep up this bright reputation I'd gathered in the last day, right? It was getting tiresome though… soon, I'd probably fall into a chasm filled with suede cowboy boots and sequined halter tops, God forbid…

I'd vowed never to go about using my previous method of choosing clothing (the eyes closed technique which had led to my showing up to school in a leather corset) and so chose the articles I felt most comfortable in. These were a cotton skirt and grey blouse. I knew that I looked nothing less than monochromatic, and may be tormented in the next 45 minutes for surpassing the line of blandness, but I didn't feel out of place in the clothing so went ahead with my decision.

"Hurry up, Suze," Sleepy grunted out from downstairs; he was dropping us off at the party on the way to work.

He spent his nighttimes at Peninsula Pizza, delivering such crusty delights to the good folk of Carmel-by-the-sea.

I was brushing my shoulder length hair perfectly. The room was still and everything in perfect place just the way I liked it. Then I heard a voice. It was so gentle, definitely masculine. It sounded like the country, with fields of golden barley and a stream running through the center… I was thrown off my primping course for a moment, captivated by the voice. He was singing a song I only knew too well. The song that my parents named me after – Susannah, Don't you Cry for me. The voice was about to come up to having a dream in Alabama when a contrasting voice came into the picture.

"Jeez, Suze. I know you have a really screwed up face and all, but we gotta go," mocked Dopey and kicked on the door.

I heard him yelp soon after, probably Andy patrolling the corridors. Ever since I'd arrived, I knew that Andy had taken up the notch of his impatience with the boys' manners.

Shaking my head furiously to clear it of its hardly forgotten thoughts, I strolled out into the hall where a cologne-smelling Brad was slumped against a wall. I sniffed as I walked past; distinctly a mixture of… citrus musk and something like strawberry supreme from the Dairy Queen. Maybe he'd fallen into an orange tree (I wouldn't put it past him), then tripped into a giant vat of strawberry jam? We joined Sleepy in the jeep. It was an old run down automobile and, no doubt, Sleepy was embarrassed to be seen in it. He was saving up for a second hand Camaro, sitting idly in the used car factory on the outer limits of town.

"'Bout time," was all he said in his usual drawl, and then, with Brad in tow, we "cruised" off to Tad's party… with the infamous kegger.

**A Rose with Any Other Name**

I was skulking. It was wrong of me, yes, but I couldn't help it. Following her home, I was caught by the chestnut glint in her hair and so, for her supper, I'd leant over her shoulder. It was surprisingly eventful; the middle child was chided for his use of the word "kegger", of which its definition I was unsure, the same child was made to court Susannah around for the evening and I was quite amused at the evident lack of table manners on the _same _child's account. I must say, this Brad boy seemed quite an interesting specimen if not disgusting in too many ways to express.

They decided to go out to a party held by a boy, I assume although the name made me wonder, called Tad. Susannah washed and changed and then emerged downstairs where the elder stepbrother drove both of them to the party. She looked beautiful in her simple clothing; much more appreciated than her previous garments much too similar to the underwear of my day.

"So, who's this Tad guy," Susannah asked whilst leaning against the head rests of the two front seats from the back one.

She looked curiously from both boys. Silence was sustained for a moment.

Brad gave her a sideways look and then said, "Only the most popular guy at our school. You better be cool or you'll be sorry."

The threat was obviously empty but I could not restrain the growl that came out from deep inside my throat in response to it. For a reason I was unsure of, I'd developed a sudden protectiveness of the dear young woman sitting beside me; my presence unnoticed by all.

"Oh, okay… Will there be many people there?" she continued her questioning, smiling in spite of her step brother's disdainful tone.

"Practically the whole year."

No one spoke for the rest of the traveling period. The only sound was the dull throb as the car ran over the pebbles on the bitumen road. Susannah lent heavily against her back rest and drummed her fingers on her knee. As each slender fingertip fell to meet the material that separated them from the bare skin below, I watched, captivated. It shocked me greatly when the car stopped in front of a grand mansion that rose up above all surrounding housing estates.

"See you crazy kids later," the eldest brother burred and dawdled on the gravel lane as the others exited.

I followed them patiently. They sauntered up the lane winding endlessly, and although the greenery was a nice change in scenery, it became rather tiresome after some time. Eventually, we were met with the tall front doors of the house but instead of knocking the brass rings on it, they were let in through a side gate by a heavily tanned woman in an apron, clutching a pair of tongs. I was slightly presumptuous about was happening; I was expecting a casual, boring gathering but was shocked when I was instead met with a lively group of people, Susannah's age, dancing in a style I was unfamiliar with, drinking from plastic cups and swimming in a long, as well as wide, pool in the center of the garden.

"Wow," Susannah said breathlessly exactly what I was thinking.

"Chill," Brad said but sidled off to meet with a mousy girl in the corner wearing a hideously revealing outfit.

There was only enough material to cover her bosom and the most protected part of her… I cringe to say this, lower areas. I looked away quickly, afraid for her honor only to be met with Susannah sliding out of her rather reserved outfit, by today's standards, at the very least, to reveal an outfit not too different from the previous girl's! It was a different color and bore no design but it was just as revealing and yet, her face was absent of any shame.

"Meet you here in two hours, okay, Brad?" she called to the already retreating boy.

"Yeah, whatever…" mumbled he, then, devoid of any attention to Susannah, began to speak to the other girl.

Susannah, looking rather shy, quite the opposite of her natural demeanor, set off to a long, white table that stretched for a good five meters. It was laden with a crystal punch bowl filled with acidic smelling juice and wooden bowls of generous circumference, filled to the brim with h'our dourves that could be hardly considered acceptable cuisine when they were practically soaked in oil… Nonetheless, not at all fazed by the scarcity of nutrients in aforementioned food, Susannah nibbled thoughtlessly on a piece and leaned against the table. I watched her carefully as she glanced warily to each direction. She seemed to be deep in thought and oblivious to anything outside the lavish boundaries of the estate's grounds.

Sidling up to her, unnecessarily silent, I was soon standing directly in front of her. At one point she looked straight at me and even though I _knew _she couldn't possibly see me, I swore that she tilted her head to the side for only a second and smile. I wasn't thinking when I did what I did next. I was much too caught up in the tangible tentativeness of the moment. With fingers outstretched, I laid my hand, brown in stark contrast to hers, on Susannah's. If I'd relaxed the muscles in my hand for even an instant, it would have plunged straight through so, I didn't. I strained them and the sight of my broad, glowing and above hers, almost caressing it, brought absent tears to my eyes.

If only I was born in her era. If only I lived next door to her, grew up with her. If only we were friends. If only… she could see me, talk to me, touch me. But she couldn't.

Eventually, a boy walked up from behind her. He tapped her on her delicate shoulder and cleared his throat. His face held neither reservations nor any compassion. It was purely expressionless. I thought to myself that perhaps his actions were out of a dare from one of his cronies who could be seen laughing hysterically in a corner.

"Excuse me. I couldn't help but notice that I haven't seen you around."

He moved closer and instinctively, I lurched forward, blocking Susannah from the path of the other man. He ceased to move just ahead of me so that his chest touched mine.

"I'm new," disinterested, she replied. "Suze," she said her name.

It was a shortened version of her real one; I hated it. It was too blunt, too sharp; it didn't suit the soft nature of Susannah.

"It's nice to meet you, Suze. I'm Paul… Slater," in a suave voice he said.

His nose was nearly touching mine by now and I could stare into his horrible blue eyes. I saw nothing; he had no emotion. Only a vast frozen expanse, separated by a black dot, created his eye.

"Okay…" she trailed off, unsure of what to say. I was smiling with happiness that she was evidently impartial. This Paul was suspicious; I didn't trust the way he walked; too confident, I didn't trust the way he talked; pompous almost, I hardly trusted the way he had kept moving forward even with Susannah's clear indifference. The only way I knew how to react to this man was to hold firm my ground… but I followed Susannah when she walked off after a minute to sit on a low chair beside the pool.

For a while, I sat on the ground beside Susannah. She was humming a melody to herself, over and over again, watching the other guests mingling and swimming. But then, out of the blue, there was a crash that disturbed the peace we had maintained for at least half an hour. She yelped and sat up to look around. I too scouted for the source of the noise. To our right, nearer to the gate in which we had entered, the Paul person Susannah had just conversed with and another unknown boy were fighting viciously. Each was shouting and pushing their way through the developing crowd; each youngster wanting a piece of the action.

However, Susannah stayed in her secluded area and watched from a distance. Gradually, the boys moved closer and closer but she remained, unafraid. I jumped up when they tumbled down on top of Susannah and tried to pull them off her chair… Alas, I couldn't grab the boy fighting Paul; he was leaning heavily on top of Paul. It was so frustrating, trying against and again to cease the brutality. I was resigned to just standing there, watching in horror as Susannah tried to get the boys off her chair so she could, at the very least, breathe.

But it went too far when she was thrown from her seat, sprawled out on the pavement next to the pool. She tried to lift her head but couldn't. It seemed that she had a slight concussion. I wanted to help her get up so much; I wanted to run and find help but these things, I could not accomplish. I thought the worse had happened but then the smaller of the boys, the one fighting Paul, tripped over a loose pavement. It happened so quickly. He put his foot backwards to steady himself, in the process, nudging Susannah just over the lip of the pool. She plunged into the empty waters; the swimmers had already vacated it to watch the fight.

Someone screamed. Others could only look on in shock. The two that had been fighting stopped and looked into the pool where her body was drifting to the bottom.

"Susannah." I said her name only once then closed me eyes. A moment later, I was in the rectory at the Juniperra Serra Mission, shaking Father Dominic's sleeping body.

"Help me."


	6. Chapter 6

**I Beg To Differ**

It was like falling into oblivion. Blackness surrounded me but I could feel the water still. Slightly unconscious, I tried to move my body but it was like my limbs were set in stone. Faintly, in the somewhat distance, I could hear voices, people screaming, even my name… And then, all thought, all knowledge, all consciousness slipped out from beneath my feet and I was gone.

**A Rose by Any Other Name**

The body shuddered awake as I continued to prod it incessantly. It turned over to reveal the creased face of Father Dominic. He'd found me in the Ackerman house when he'd visited them one afternoon. I didn't think he could see me so was incredibly shocked when he looked me in the eye with more intensity that I thought a 65 year old man could have, and smiled.

However, on this particular occasion, he was not smiling that identical genial smile. Instead, it was a mystified, slightly irritated scowl. My terrified expression must have alerted him to the emergent situation.

"What is it, Hector?" he said, voice gruff with sleep.

"Susannah… she's drowning."

I would have rammed him in the back hadn't he been a priest. There was something in his shortened stride as he struggled with the delirious effects of sleep that made me irate. Unmentionably, save that one gasp in which I'd explained the outcome, I only thought of saving her.

Father Dominic was a mediator; a liaison between the living and dead. I had the ability to shift between passages of time and space but I wasn't able to bring him with me. As the priest fetched his car and began to drive to the party, I spent a while with Susannah and watched other guests fruitlessly trying to revive her. They thumped her chest and pushed her onto her side, all too terrified to call for help. It was an underage party with the keg of illegal beverage. How could these people be so selfish as to let her die for the sake of what? Certainly not their consciences nor there scruples.

After watching these reluctant efforts, I conceded. I returned to the priest who was rushing down a road nearby to the place in mention.

"Quickly," I ushered him along. With furrowed brows, he remained intent and gunned along the street.

Too intact to his principles, he daren't overstep the speed limit and we drove at a speed dangerous to my mental health. Too slow, too hesitant to satiate me.

"Hurry!"

The lights came into view. In this case, I looked past the glow that had delighted me once before. They now symbolized something other than happiness. There was something more sinister lurking behind that building that had me gasping and wrenching the door open for Father Dominic. He had to hurry lest he be too late. He, of all people, would have the decency, that moral fiber, to willingly find adequate help and not struggle to bring her back to life.

I wanted her to live even though I loved her. There had even been a time when, in some state of disbelieving, in some state immersed in depression, I'd wanted her to die so I could be with her. She lived so beautifully and, no doubt, she would age so gracefully and, on her death bed, I would say a silent goodbye to her and she would leave forever. The finality in that event had consumed me; that fate was not one I wanted. And it might have been selfish for, if anything, I should have wanted her to lead a fulfilling life in which she achieved all of those goals she so hungered for. Yet I still needed her to be with me. The selfishness in that overwhelmed me but I never doubted my love for her.

The priest burst in, although hardly noticed by the partygoers until he yelled out.

"Where is she?"

There was partition through the crowd as the bewildered teenagers caught sight of the man, ghostly white and in clothing unusual to his thing frame or at least to the eyes of the children.

We delved through the crowd and he bent over Susannah, checking her vital signs.

"Call the doctor," I said to him in his ear.

"Call the doctor!" he yelled our hoarsely.

It was intensely frustrating to have to have the priest convey every of my thoughts to the crowd. I was so inept in helping this girl that I cared for so deeply. I couldn't even touch her. I crouched down near her and attempted to cradle her head in my arms, soften the hard pavement but every time, my hands slipped through.

"Susannah," I said near her and urged her to open her eyes and redeem life. She didn't. "Please."

When the ambulance came, I stood up and tried again to, unsuccessfully, help the paramedics. I brushed through the crowd to no avail and I tried to part them further so that the medical team could leave with more ease, unhindered by the nervous children. They ignored me, they didn't even notice me. That is until I came to Paul; the brown haired man who stood at the back, seemingly unengaged with the ruckus.

"Pretty girl, isn't she?" he said as I stood by the gate, overseeing the paramedics loading the stretched into the ambulance; I would follow on later. His voice had me turning towards him; unsure and weary. He stared back at me with a raised brow.

"It's a shame really. You know what brain damage can do to a person," he continued to speak.

"Are you speaking to me?" I asked. The wind barreled against the man and his shirt billowed although mine hardly moved even with the strongest of gusts.

"Of course," he said.

My eyes widened. "Why didn't you help her?" I said. It didn't bother me so much that he could speak to me, see me, maybe even touch me. It bothered me more that he had made no effort to aid her. I was under the pretense that mediators were people with extraordinary powers to help people no matter who that person was. Who was this mediator who'd made no actions to help Susannah?

"She probably deserved it. People nowadays…"

His words were daggers and I didn't doubt that he purposefully spoke so cruelly about Susannah. I raised my right arm to hit him but lowered it almost immediately. Was there a purpose in hurting the man? What would it achieve? Very little in regards to the safety and health of Susannah. But still I wanted to. My arm tingled with the need to inflict some sort of pain, take out my frustrations, my anger on someone who perhaps mildly deserved it.

"Going to hit me, are you?" he asked, his eyes glinting with malice.

"No," I finally replied after a stint of deep thought. He seemed unfazed by my answer.

"Of course," he said then laughed as he returned to the rest of the crowd. I looked at his figure as he weaved through he group of people and anger rose although I ignored it as best I could.

I used to spend much of my time in the hospital. I would spend a day there and I would hover by all of the sick people going through convalesces. There was once when a girl saw me on the cusp of death. Her family, who usually spent their time at her bedside, was having a meal downstairs so that she was all alone but I remained with her and I reassured her that things would be alright. She believed me wholeheartedly and with every right to; she was a very obedient, polite child who deserved everlasting rest of whatever awaits us after death. Although she was scared, that fear was somehow dampened by my presence. There was something special in having a role, playing a part in helping someone. Something I'd missed.

I appeared at Susannah's bedside. Father Dominic was waiting outside and calling her parents. The doctors surrounded her and were treating her in a frenzied rush. I stood in the corner of the room, scared to get in the way in spite of the fact that they would just walk straight through me. Still, I stayed silent and unmoving in the corner, waiting for the next turn of events.

The equipment they used was familiar to me. As I said, I was also familiar to the hospital. I'd learnt, with the years, of the new technology even though there was no need. It brought a small flicker of light in my existence and I salvaged what I could.

"Keep resuscitating her. I'm going to get Doctor Phillips," said one of the female doctors who handed something to one of the nurses although another nurse blocked my view. She scurried off.

Machines began to sound more scatter brained.

"Who'd she come in with?" asked the remaining doctor.

"A priest."

"Get him," she said and I knew why she said those words. It was simple enough and, although I might have assumed it minutes before, it still had me staggering back in shock and pain. She couldn't die. Now that it mattered, I prayed that she would live.

Father Dominic entered a minute later.

"Sir, her condition is unstable," was all the doctor said and Father Dominic took over. The nurses vacated a space by her bedside and he occupied it.

"_Our Father, Who art in heaven,_

_Hallowed be Thy name/_

_Thy kingdom come_

_Thy will be done on earth,_

_As it is in heaven._

_Give us this day our daily bread,_

_And forgive us our trespasses,_

_As we forgive those who trespass against us,_

_And lead us not into temptation,_

_But deliver us from evil. _

**Amen.**

May this soul find eternal rest and happiness in heaven."

The heart monitor beeped sporadically as the prayer ceased and I rushed forwards. The priest was the only one to notice me and he stepped away from his position to give me room. The nurses looked at him questioningly but his eyes only rested on poor Susannah. I bent my head near hers and listened to her soft heartbeat. The close proximity was ignored; my only thoughts went to her.

"Susannah," I whispered although no one other than Father Dominic would hear. "Please survive. Please." The beeping did not stabilize but her eyes flickered as if she was suffering a terrible night mare. "You don't know me, Susannah, but you must gain back your health."

Slowly, her eyelids parted to reveal her crystal emerald eyes. They seemed empty although with a wash of glazed white on them. The nurses had given up at that point and, faintly, I could hear thudding footsteps as the doctors returned to the room. She stared at me, maybe through me, maybe at me. But her eyes were definitely directed at me. I stared at her tenderly.

"Find your health again," I said and her lips parted, dry as dust. "You must try, Susannah."

"How do you know my name?" The words escaped her lips like music, like a beautiful melody played by the most talented harpist. My breath caught. She'd seen me, she'd spoken to me.

I opened my mouth again to reply but then her eyes closed as suddenly as they'd opened. The beeping steadied and all of the nurses turned around from where they'd averted their eyes, supposedly giving Father Dominic space to place his last blessing on the girl.

"Oh my," gasped one who ran to the opposite side of where I stood. The doctors and the other nurses rushed forward as well. I looked on from next to the priest who smiled fondly at the girl.

"I knew she had it in her," he said whimsically.

"She saw me, she spoke to me," I whispered.

"Look after her," Father Dominic replied, seemingly not having heard me, "although it's clear that you will even without my request." He left the room silently and no one noticed except for me.

Soon after, Susannah's family arrived and they filed into the waiting room outside the ICU morbidly. The main doctor left to inform them of the news that she was stable and would undoubtedly regain her health. I watched them as they visited her. Her mother, Helen, stroked her daughter's hair and stayed by her bedside even as the rest of her family left to eat. There was that loyalty, that devotion only found in a mother daughter relationship that I respect enough to turn away as she whispered to the sleeping girl.

For three days she remained in the hospital.

**I Beg to Differ**

The last thing that I could remember were those brown eyes; depthless like chasms. The face was beautiful and my best friend from Brooklyn, Gina, would have been swooning in no time. I didn't know who he was but when he spoke to me, a feeling enveloped me that I cannot even begin to describe.

**A/N: ****I haven't updated in ages so I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit tacky. I've lost touch with Mediator World! For the last month and a bit, I've been preparing and writing for NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. If you haven't heard of it, it's a competition in which contestants try to write a novel 0f 50k in the month of November. **

**This is the second year that I've participated in it and I had the best time. You should consider it for next year.**

**I hope that you liked this chapter although I might rewrite it in the future. Thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews for the last few chapters. They were possibly the only thing that gave me inspiration to continue this fan fic although I only had a couple of chapters left.**

**Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!**

**Junaberry**


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